“LEADS” // 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
BY MATEO MORENO
LEADS, the brother and sister drama from Director Bryan Poyser, is just the kind of film you hope to discover at a film festival. It’s a drama with two meaty roles for its own leads and a charming and wondrous family story that often gets lost in multiplexes but can truly shine at a festival, where people want to see such a finely crafted film. Heather Kafka plays Mags, a single mother to a seven-year-old, who’s trying to make ends meet by teaching acting to a bunch of college students. She’s an actress who once lead a film at Sundance and is still struggling to find her way back to the magic promise she once held. During a self-tape one day, her estranged brother Merritt (Justin Arnold) comes knocking on her door, saying he wants to catch up and connect but is really simply running away from his problems. Jealously ends up creeping in as well once her brother decides he may now want to be an actor and wants his sisters help. And the film focuses on them, their own relationship and in spite of all of the traps that is set up for them, becomes a heartwarming and loving family bonding film, one that’s also a hell of a love letter to acting and actors themselves.
Both Heather Kafka and Justin Arnold shine here in their own ways. Kafka gives such aching vulnerability and longing for her past in every single moment. Her performance is lived-in and honest and you can’t help but beg the film to give her another shot. Justin Arnold is a trainwreck of energy. He comes barreling into her life like a bull in a china shop, wreckless but familiar. Even his bad intentions have good intentions stuck inside them and he’s very relatable. Watching him befriend every student he comes in contact with because he’s simply kind and still be his sisters biggest supporter (even if he doesn’t realize when he’s also a bit of the problem) is a joy. And their chemistry is very strong, making you instantly believe in their years long relationship. The title Leads may mean several things here, but it’s best remembered to me for a film that boldly showcases two wonderful performers and insists that we pay attention to them. And we do.
GRADE: A-
STORY BY Bryan Poyser, Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold SCREENPLAY AND DIRECTED BY Bryan Poyser STARRING Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold, Macon Blair, Sara Paxton, Aaliyah Tardio, Wade Smith, Yesenia Garcia Herrington SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: https://tribecafilm.com/films/leads-2025